eat one's words

Idioms and Phrases

Be forced to retract something one has said, as in The incumbent won easily, so I had to eat my words . This expression was already proverbial in John Ray's English Proverbs (1670). [Second half of 1500s]

Related Words

• back down
• back off
• cancel
• deny
• disavow
• disown
• pull back
• recant
• renege
• renounce
• repeal
• repudiate
• rescind
• reverse
• revoke
• rule out
• take back
• withdraw